


do you catch your breath when I look at you

by bibliophilo, mozarteel



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Awkward Flirting, M/M, ygoshipolympics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-06
Updated: 2015-06-06
Packaged: 2018-04-03 02:39:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4083514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bibliophilo/pseuds/bibliophilo, https://archiveofourown.org/users/mozarteel/pseuds/mozarteel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes, Shun is able to talk to the cute waiter without embarrassing himself.</p><p>This is not one of those times.</p>
            </blockquote>





	do you catch your breath when I look at you

**Author's Note:**

> For the [YGO Ship Olympics](http://ygoshipolympics.dreamwidth.org/)!  
> Prompt: Rooftop [Challenge: Marble]
> 
> 'a match made in coffee heaven and bike noises' - rina, 2015
> 
> AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Shun arrives at the mall.

Too bad it's not his destination today. He drives his motorcycle past the large building, turning left at the next corner before finally stopping in front of a single-storey building situated between an old flower shop and a small bookstore.

It's a coffee shop, plain, run-of-the-mill façade belying the best coffee Shun has ever tasted in this city. Its sole unique structural feature lies in the rooftop deck, an open, flat area surrounded by a simple wrought iron guardrail and modified into a second dining area. Neatly arranged tables and chairs are just barely visible from the street, with wide umbrellas set in the centres of the tables to provide customers with protection against the burning sun.

This is Shun's favourite place to hang out, and, well, not just because of their coffee. There  _is_  another reason he enjoys going here so much.

He parks his bike, opens the café door and steps in. "Oh, hey, it's you again," the waiter nearest the door says by way of greeting. The nametag pinned to his waistcoat lapel has  _Sawatari_  written in bold, capital letters. "Just couldn't stay away, could we? Had to see our favourite waiter again, hm?" he adds with a leer. Shun pointedly ignores him as he passes by.

"Welcome back, Shun!" Yuuya's already waiting for him at the counter, smiling and holding a menu in his hands. He's wearing his usual uniform, black waistcoat neatly pressed and buttoned, with the matching plain black trousers. His white shirtsleeves are rolled up to the elbows today, revealing lightly tanned forearms.

Yuuya beams at him.

And this is the other reason Shun loves visiting the coffee shop so much; Yuuya's easy smiles and warm personality never fail to brighten up his day, even if he'll never admit it.

Shun picks a table in the corner of the room, right beside a huge, decorative potted plant, dragging the chair out to sit down. He doesn't have to look back to know that Yuuya's following him while– is he making a rude gesture at the man near the door? Is Sawatari smirking at them? How strange.

A child's high-pitched laugh surprises him, and he glances around the room to find the source. Yuuya notices, and smiles. "Ah," he begins, "that's the owner's little brother and his friends. The owner couldn't find anyone to babysit his brother today, so he invited the kid and a bunch of friends to the shop so we can watch over them while he's working. They're playing upstairs, but do you need me to ask them to turn it down? They might be a bit noisy."

Shun has met the owner of this shop exactly once, when he walked into the place right as the man was in the middle of chastising his staff about… something. Coffee beans? Yuuya had been frowning as he stared at his feet, the barista who looked a lot like his sister had been glaring at a coffeepot, and everyone else had attempted to act as if they were listening to his speech while not actually paying attention, or (in Sawatari's case) not even  _trying_. He looked like an asshole, to be honest, with his hipster glasses and his squeaky-clean shoes ( _With no socks!_  a part of Shun adds). Shun doesn't have a great opinion about him.

Yuuya's still waiting for him to respond, though, so he shrugs. "No, it's fine. I won't be long, anyway." And it may be just his imagination, but Yuuya seems a bit disappointed at his reply.

"Oh, that's okay then," Yuuya nods, but his smile feels a bit dimmer, and there's a twist to his mouth now that might be described as a frown.

 _This won't do_ , Shun thinks, and for some reason he feels the need to explain himself to Yuuya. "I'm picking up my sister from the airport today." He pauses briefly before casually adding, "but I'm free this weekend, so I might stop by again."

Yuuya perks up. Shun's only mentioned the possibility of returning soon, but they're both aware that he will  _definitely_  come by and visit Yuuya at his workplace when he later has the time. This is only one of the (many, many) things they know about each other.

"You're always welcome," Yuuya says warmly, and Shun can't help but be pleased at that.

It makes a difference, he thinks, when he's the one who has to look up at Yuuya while they talk, instead of it being the other way round; seated, he's having to lean up to look him in the face, arms folded on the tabletop while Yuuya beams down at him like a small benevolent sun. Not an unpleasant change by any means, just… different.

Yuuya leans a hip against the table edge, absently drumming his fingers against the leather menu folder. "I'm serious," he continues, "you really should stop by more often. Serena likes you, even if she doesn't show it, and I– well," he reddens a little as Shun watches in fascination, "I'm always up for entertaining company."

Sawatari lets out a bark of laughter at this from a little way across the room, and Yuuya jolts away from the table instantly.

"A-Anyway," he stammers, then coughs to recover some measure of professionalism, "can I take your order?" He doesn't  _need_  to proffer the menu – they both know Shun has the entire selection memorised – but Shun accepts it anyway.

A single order of black coffee later, Yuuya excuses himself to get Shun his drink. Shun takes this moment to simply relax and observe his surroundings; Sawatari is eyeing him and his departing colleague alternately, as if watching a tennis match, and the pretty barista behind the counter (Shun's sure he's heard Yuuya call her something like  _Yuzu_  or  _Zuzu_ ) looks to be drying some cups and saucers and arranging them neatly in the glass cabinet behind her.

Yuuya returns a few minutes later carrying Shun's order on a silver tray, setting it on the table with a flourish more suited to a waiter in a four-star joint than this ordinary café, and a deep bow towards his customer. Shun has to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from outright laughing, more charmed than he would ever admit by the cheeky gesture.

"Enjoy your drink," Yuuya grins and makes as if to leave, but pauses. Looks around him at the near-empty shop with only Shun, Sawatari and Zuzu (or is it Yuzu?), and a couple deep in conversation five tables away from them. Blinks, seems to come to a decision before pulling out the empty chair right in front of Shun and seating himself across from him.

"Hi," he chirps, planting his elbows on the tabletop, lacing his fingers together and resting his chin on the back of his hands. He leans forward over the table, tilting his head a little to one side; Shun mirrors him without thinking, propping his head up with one hand and idly stirring his drink with the other.

"Hello," he replies, as if they haven't just been borderline  _flirting_  at this same spot not fifteen minutes ago. Yuuya continues to smile, still looking at him like Shun is the most interesting person he's ever had the pleasure of meeting.

A few seconds tick by with them just staring at each other, Yuuya blinking slowly as he gazes at Shun from under his dark eyelashes while Shun picks up his coffee and brings it to his mouth. The drink is bitter, just how he likes it, and he finds himself humming softly in appreciation as he enjoys his drink and company together. They stay like this for what feels like an eternity, and when the silence finally creeps from pleasant calmness to something awkward, Yuuya opens his mouth.

"I didn't know you have a sister," he states, voice gentle, as if afraid to shatter this moment between them. Shun places his cup back on its saucer before speaking.

"She's not around much, is all," he shrugs, running his index finger around the rim of the cup. "She's in college, so she's pretty busy. Today's the first time I'll be seeing her in three months."

"You sound like you're really proud of her." The corner of Yuuya's mouth quirks up in a tiny smile. "You know, we know so many things about each other, but every time you visit, you always manage to surprise me with info like this."

He lets out a small sigh. "I guess what I'm trying to say is, I really appreciate this. Whatever  _this_  is, between us. I love talking with you, even with your grumpiness and eternal scowly-face."

Shun's heart skips a beat.

He's spared from searching for an appropriate response when a dull  _thunk_  and clatter sounds from outside, causing them and everyone else in the room to whip round towards the storefront window; this is followed by the sound of children arguing and multiple sets of footsteps pounding down the stairs.

A little redheaded girl appears, followed by three more boys around her age; Shun notes how the last boy descending the staircase bears a striking similarity in looks to the owner of the café.  _Ah, so this is the younger brother_ , he thinks. It would be an adorable sight, four small children shuffling their way towards Yuuya (if they're surprised to see him seated at a customer's table, they don't show it), except their faces are marred by varied expressions of guilt and fear. From the looks of it, one of them's just been crying.

"Um, Yuuya…" the girl begins, her words wavering, a small hitch in her voice. "W-Whose motorcycle is parked right outside…?"

Yuuya frowns. "The bike outside?" He peers out the storefront window. "Shun, isn't that yours?"

Alarm bells begin to ring frantically in Shun's head. "Yes," he answers slowly, choosing to observe the situation at hand before reacting. The kids' fearful expressions are swiftly changing to plain  _terrified_  now, Sawatari and maybe-Zuzu looking alarmed, and the sirens in his head ring louder.

"Well, you see," the girl hesitates before plunging on, "Tatsuya bought these new marbles and we were playing with them on the upper deck but one of them rolled off and dropped through the railing and landed on the bike? And we think the side-mirror broke its fall and its fall broke the side-mirror? We're so sorry!" She confesses their crime all in a single breath, anxious to have it out, and her audience blinks for a moment or two as they try to process the torrent of words.

Then Shun's brain catches up with the rest of him, and his voice comes out as a rough whisper as he croaks, 'My bike?"

The kids all look like they're going to cry at this. Shun feels like crying too, though for an entirely different reason. Even Ruri isn't allowed to touch his motorcycle, and now it's–

Thankfully, Yuuya steps in to calm them all down.

"Look," he says soothingly, "let's just go outside and try to assess the damage first, okay? Maybe it's not so bad; maybe the marble's only chipped the paint a little! So there's no need to panic, all right?" They unanimously agree with this suggestion as Yuuya herds Shun and the kids outside, the children just relieved to have someone older take charge, Shun not trusting himself to speak as he tries to remain as calm as possible, telling himself that Yuuya's probably right, and children do exaggerate so–

That is, until he actually sees the state of his beloved bike.

The right side-mirror is indeed shattered, a small marble lying innocently near the front tyre. From the additional denting, Shun guesses that it had ricocheted off the bike seat and into the mirror dead centre. Shards of broken glass lie scattered all over the pavement, mocking him.

He inhales deeply and holds his breath. He will not scream at a bunch of children,  _he will not_ –

Everyone's still eyeing him cautiously and waiting for his reaction, though, so he exhales long and slow, says "It's fine," flatly, face carefully blank. The kids all have  _relieved_  written on their faces now, and at least they don't look two seconds or a rough word away from bursting into tears anymore, although Yuuya is still sending him anxious sidelong glances from where he's standing.

They re-enter the café, Yuuya ushering the children back upstairs with a lecture on being more careful while playing next time, probably-not-Zuzu handing Sawatari a broom and dustpan and directing him out to the pavement despite his protests.

Instead of returning to his table, Shun moves towards the shop's counter, Yuuya trailing along behind him. Maybe-Yuzu gives them both a questioning look before shrugging and returning to her duties. Yuuya steps around and moves past him to go behind the counter, pulling her aside to speak with her in a low voice. Shun can see her responding, a pleading look in Yuuya's eyes, then she's huffing a sigh and turning to prepare some beverage or other. She passes the finished product to Yuuya, who flashes her a grateful smile before carrying it towards Shun, who's already seated on one of the barstools installed in front of the counter.

Yuuya pauses for a moment, biting his lower lip, and stands directly in front of him, the dark, wooden counter the only thing separating them.

"So, uh, sorry about that," he apologises. Shun twitches in his seat.

"How much would a repair cost?" Yuuya continues rapidly, expression worried. "Because I can pay for that, you know; I'm sure it won't be too expensive–"

"Don't worry about it," Shun sighs. " _Really_ ," he adds, more forcefully than intended as Yuuya continues to look troubled. "I can take it to the garage; I know a guy there." He grimaces at the thought of enduring another one of Jack's famous tirades about how he should  _take better care of his motorcycle_ , but that will be nothing compared to facing Yuusei's silent disapproval.

Yuuya beams at him in relief then, brilliant and blinding even as he performs the simple act of pushing a cup and saucer across the counter, and Shun's chest tightens. "On the house. It's the least I can do," Yuuya explains firmly, as he begins to protest. Shun accepts the drink, picking up the cup and trying not to rattle the teaspoon on the saucer, studiously ignoring the way Sawatari, returning from sweeping glass off the sidewalk, doesn't even have the grace to muffle a derisive snort. It's a cup of hot chocolate, topped with whipped cream and liberally sprinkled with mini marshmallows and chocolate shavings. It's not his usual type of drink, but he supposes he doesn't have a problem with trying something new.

He can envision Ruri and Yuuto all too clearly now, both sniggering at him and delighting in his flustered state.  _Here lies Kurosaki Shun_ , the image of his absent sister recites in sepulchral tones, face grave as if reading his eulogy.  _He died when a cute boy smiled at him_ , mind-Yuuto adds, with an equally funereal expression. Shun spoons marshmallows into his mouth and takes a scalding gulp of chocolate to dispel his tormentors.

"If you won't accept money, maybe I could come with you?" Yuuya offers. "Please? It's the least thing I can do after something like this happens while you're here, and on my watch, too," he adds. Shun makes a noncommittal noise through a mouthful of hot liquid, waving a hand in a gesture that could mean anything as he tries to swallow quickly.

"Is that a yes?" Yuuya presses, serious, and Shun nods once in reply while he coughs to clear his throat. Yuuya beams, face lighting up like a beacon, as if Shun's just promised to take him out on a romantic bike ride.  _Wait a minute_ , Shun's mind supplies helpfully,  _that sounds like a_ –

"Great! It's a date, then!" Yuuya exclaims, looking happier than Shun has ever seen him before. To his eternal embarrassment, Yuuya glances furtively around the room, looks directly into his eyes, and actually  _winks_. To the waiter's eternal amusement, however, Shun reacts by fumbling his still half-full cup, spilling hot chocolate and cream in his lap and turning a brilliant shade of scarlet to rival Yuuya's eyes.

Somewhere behind him, he can hear Sawatari howling with laughter; Yuuya just sticks his tongue out at his co-worker, only for the other man to laugh even  _harder_ , and even Yuzu is covering her mouth with a hand to stifle her giggles.

 _Here lies Kurosaki Shun_ , mind-Ruri and mind-Yuuto solemnly declare in unison. Sawatari approaches the counter, ruffling Yuuya's hair and teasing him mercilessly about their conversation.  _He died when a cute boy asked him out_ , the shades add.

Shun slams his head against the countertop in frustration, but also to hide his still-scarlet face from the rest of the world.


End file.
